Language and Ethics

The University of Vaasa Research Group for the Theory of Translation, LSP and Multilingualism (VAKKI) held its 31th annual VAKKI Symposium in Vaasa on February 11-12, 2011. The theme of the Symposium was Language and Ethics. The invited keynote speakers were Professor Jörg R. Bergmann (Bielefeld University) and Eva Biaudet, the Finnish Ombudsman for Minorities.

In his plenary speech, Bergmann discussed the position of morality and ethics in modern society. Although contemporary society is in the process of dividing into several parts (such as law, politics, medicine, and art), each of which observes its own moral values and collective beliefs, Bergmann argued that morality and ethics are not disappearing, especially as general concepts. Bergmann deliberated upon the various forms and functions of moral and moralizing communication, for example from the point of view of conversation analysis. According to him, moral communication is today characterized by indirectness and contradiction, and also involves various kinds of risks. Bergmann gave gossip, which often takes the form of shared moral disapproval, as an example of a typical type of moralization. It may be risky not only for the objects of the gossiping but also for the gossipers themselves.

Biaudet drew attention to the way in which various ethnic groups are talked about in the media and in society in general. She took a critical point of view especially towards the effect of language use on attitudes: as a seminal means of social interaction, language plays a very important role in the formation and social mediation of attitudes towards immigrants, for example. Biaudet also criticized the media, its way of using language and its way of representing states of affairs through language, such as by portraying immigrants either as victims or as a threat and by using only certain kinds of metaphor.

The theme of the Symposium created dynamic conditions for the meeting of researchers, teachers and other experts from various walks of language-related studies. Ethics and ethical questions form an essential part of language use and its study, no matter whether the question is an aspect of literary studies, translation studies, the study of nonfiction or LSP texts, conversation studies, or the study of multilingualism or lexicography. The papers dealing with the theme of the Symposium confirmed that language is not only used to communicate, but also to convey values and ideas; as different kinds of groups, individual communicators, cultures and eras confront each other within language, these values and ideas are called into question and subjected to negotiation. In addition to the papers discussing the theme of Language and Ethics, the section papers of the Symposium also featured—in traditional VAKKI fashion—other subjects of study from the fields of translation, LSP and multilingualism. This multilingual publication contains 33 articles that are based on the papers given in the Symposium. The articles have been refereed by the double blind procedure.

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Publication details
Editorial board

Section articles

Translator, Transtraitor, Bare Life – Conflicting Ethics in War Situations in George Packer’s Betrayed
Aaltonen, Sirkku

Begreppskarta som hjälpmedel i bedömningen av muntliga kunskaper i svenska
Alanen, Kaisa & Männikkö, Tiina

Miten erikoisalojen tekstien kääntämistä opetetaan ja toimiiko opetus?
Alho, Marjut

Dynamiska tvåspråkiga leksituationer
Bergroth, Mari & Kvist, Maria

Von Apotheker Prof. Dr. Martin Schulzbis Teddy Petzi: Personenbezeichnungen in Kundenzeitschriften der Apothekenbranche
Breckle, Margit

Language and Ethics in Joseph Conrad’s Sea Prose
Dubova, Galina

Discursive Repertoires Constructing a Positive Identity of the British National Front
Enberg, Caroline

”This is how YLE commentates on the World Championships: The Russians were f…..g 10 times better!” – Notes on Moral Panic in Finnish Tabloids
Hjort, Minna

Yhteistyön henki ja arvot Vaasanseudun kuntaliitosdokumenteissa
Ikola-Norrbacka, Rinna, Lähdesmäki, Kirsi, Mård-Miettinen, Karita, Mäntymäki, Tiina & Nissilä, Niina

Mellan standard och dialekt: utformning av ett språkligt begreppssystem
Johansson, Lars-Erik

Der Freischütz als Hollywood-Spektakel – Übersetzungstheoretischer Blickwinkel auf die finnischen Neuinszenierungen in den Jahren 2006 und 2008
Kervinen, Mikko

Oikeustulkin työ – yhteistyön etiikkaa
Kinnunen, Tuija & Vik-Tuovinen, Gun-Viol

Suomen ja ruotsin vuorottelu kaksikielisessä kokouksessa – Kielenvalinnan näkökulma
Koskela, Merja & Dahl, Emma

Korrekturlesen – mehr als nur ein notwendiges Übel!
Krenzler-Behm, Dinah

Domain Classification for Terminology Management: Principles of Compilation
Kudashev, Igor

Genre moraalisen diskurssin välineenä kokousvuorovaikutuksessa
Lehtinen, Esa

Ethical Problems Related to Language and Linguistic Practices
Lehtonen, Tommi

Eettiset kysymykset sanakirjatyössä
Lehtosalo, Kaisa & Tyysteri, Laura

To Dress and Undress The Naked Chef – a Multimodal Translation Analysis
Lindqvist, Yvonne

Für und gegen Organspenden. Zum Gebrauch von Wörtern und Wendungen in einem ethisch heiklen Bereich
Malmqvist, Anita & Skog-Södersved, Mariann

Puhetta ulkomaalaisista satakuntalaisissa pk-yrityksissä
Minkkinen, Eila